Diame stays focused on team goals
HIS FORM SINCE:
Featured just once after recovering from muscular issues – hasn’t scored since October.
THE LINK:
Newcastle were looking to bring the 21-year-old on loan with a potential summer deal also included.
WHAT HAPPENED:
A player that interests United and has been scouted but unable to agree terms after loan enquiry.
MILD MOHAMMADI (AKHMAT GROZNY)
THE LINK: HIS SINCE: FORM
He netted last week against Guingamp but is struggling to hold down a starting place. Contrasting reports – some suggesting that United had been offered the left-back, while others claimed United had scouted the Iranian international and were ready to make move.
WHAT HAPPENED:
His link with United was largely down to agentdriven talk.
HIS FORM SINCE:
With him playing in Russia, the league is over for now, so he’s been taking part in preseason season and friendly games.
STANLEY N’SOKI (PARIS ST GERMAIN)
THE LINK:
The name which is constantly linked with United, he was very close to signing last summer but talks broke down. He was linked again this winter on loan.
A long-term target for Newcastle but injury concerns for the player scuppered a
WHAT HAPPENED:
chance for the deal. He’s played twice since December.
Has only played once in 2019, against Bordeaux on February 9. Benched a week later.
HIS FORM SINCE: THE LINK:
Rafa Benitez was linked by the national press with a move for the forward, as United reportedly looked for a different option to Salomon Rondon.
WHAT HAPPENED:
No stranger to Newcastle scouts going back to his Oxford days. Continually monitored but is now out with knee injury.
Ruled out for what may be a lengthy spell due to knee ligament damage. Has 14 goals in 26 league appearances so far. ■■Additional reporting by LEE RYDER
HIS FORM SINCE:
MOHAMED Diame is refusing to allow his Newcastle United future to distract him from the task of helping the club beat relegation.
The midfielder’s deal runs out in the summer, but a clause in his contract which requires him to play a certain amount of games to earn a one-year extension, is close to being reached.
The Chronicle understands that the club have no qualms with giving him the extension but Diame, who is 31, would like a longer deal which will keep on Tyneside until 2021.
Despite the uncertainty over his future, the former Senegal midfielder is keen to keep the focus on the pitch as he looks to win back his place in the first team and help United avoid relegation from the Premier League.
“My thinking is still the same,” Diame said. “I’m happy here, but it’s not me who’s going to decide about my future. I just try to help the team to get the target, and afterwards we’ll see. It’s not the moment to talk about my future. I’m happy and settled down in Newcastle.
“Everything is OK. I’m focused on the target, that’s it. The manager needs me to give everything for this team and it’s what I will do until the end.”
Diame returned to action last week against Wolves coming off the bench for four minutes after not featuring since January 2 due to injury.
With Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff forming a strong partnership in his absence, and the return of Ki Sung-yueng from the Asian Cup, Diame’s return to the United starting 11 is far from a given at the moment.